Twice As Old: Following Suit

This is the second chapter in a series exploring a Pacific Crest Trail hike that began on April 16, 1996 and didn’t end until my partner Peter Miles Bergman and I had doubled in age and fulfilled a 23-year-old pact, completing a TAOist thruhike.

In the first chapter I looked at how the planning of such a trip has drastically changed over the years. Next, before I get onto the trail, I’m going to take us on the road. Nearly every trail hike starts with a road trip to a trailhead, but in August of 2019 ours included a hunt for a buried relic from 1996. This strange detour takes us into some of the psychological terrain unique to our story.